


Leave

by PapayaK



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-14
Packaged: 2018-02-11 13:17:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2069685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PapayaK/pseuds/PapayaK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if they just didn't know anything about any regulations? My attempt at Jack/Sam ship. Rated for some violence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jack woke up with a start and immediately rose and pivoted onto his knees reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. He instantly regretted moving as his head threatened to fall off his body and explode, and not necessarily in that order. 

He took a deep breath to control the throbbing and scanned his surroundings. He had been lying on the floor in the main room of a small, modestly furnished cottage, dressed in a plain brown tunic and pants. The most important information he gained was that he was not alone. 

He reached over and shook the shoulder of a similarly dressed woman lying near him. “Carter?” He asked uncertainly. 

He had the strangest feeling… Like he should be somewhere else, only he couldn’t think where. This was the only place he had ever known, wasn’t it? This was… home.

Carter groaned and turned her head to look at him. “Colonel?”

“Jack” he corrected, frowning.

“Right” She too, spoke uncertainly.

He nodded and pressed the heel of one hand into his left eye socket. 

“You okay?” she asked.

“Other than a monster of a headache and scrambled brains – can’t think straight.” He admitted. He felt too confused at the moment to be anything but honest. “You?”

“Same.” She raised herself on her elbows to look around; “Well!” she exclaimed when her eyes fell on a small child with blond curls, little more than an infant, sleeping peacefully on the floor between them. “Who’s this?” she asked, resting her hand gently on the girl’s back. She seemed to be perfectly healthy, just asleep.

“You’re Carter.” 

She nodded. 

“I’m Jack. Then this is… Sam.”

“You sure?” she asked doubtfully, “What makes you think so?”

“That’s what we would’ve named her. Sam is my other favorite name.” His eyes twinkled at her, “Besides Carter.”

She smiled softly. “Okay, but I’m still not sure you’re right about that.” 

“Then who is she, genius?”

“We’ll go with Sam until we have another idea.” Something made her not want to protest, to just accept the situation.

“Mm hmm. Told ya.” He said as he got up from the floor and swayed for a minute, “Whoa. Don’t get up on my account,” he waved a hand at her as he stumbled toward the door.

“Jack – Where are we?”

He paused, looked around frowning, “Home? Think this must be home.” He still had the nagging feeling he belonged somewhere else, but he knew nowhere else. Plus he was absolutely certain that he and Carter belonged together. The baby was only natural…

Carter, her hand still on Sam, looked around nodding uncertainly, “That seems to fit.” She said doubtfully. She had the same feeling of uncertain belonging.

Jack turned away again, taking a weapon from the pack on the floor by the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Gotta find Daniel and Teal’c,” he answered without thinking.

She nodded. That sounded right. “Do you even remember what they look like?”

He considered, “No, but I’ll know ‘em when I see ‘em. You stay here with Sam. I’ll be back in a minute.” 

When he returned, Carter was playing peek-a-boo with Sam who was giggling for all she was worth. He paused at the door and wished he could smile at the pair. Carter noticed him. “What did you find?”

“It’s not good. I found five dead.”

“Daniel or Teal’c?” She asked, concerned.

“No sign of them. And other than those five, the village is deserted.” He walked over and picked up Sam who was starting to investigate the cold fireplace. “Not a place to play, little girl!” He carried her back near Carter, “I don’t know what happened here, but whatever it was,” he gestured at his head, “I’m guessing we were caught in it.”

“Then why aren’t we dead?”

“Everyone else was outside. Maybe we were protected enough in here?”

“Whatever it was I’d guess we knew all about it, but somehow it screwed with our heads.”

“You’ll figure it out. Something tells me you’re the brains of this outfit.” He gently disentangled Sam’s fingers from the sunglasses around his neck, and handed her back to Carter. “Keep her inside for a while. I’m going to go lay our friends to rest.”

She nodded gravely at him as he left, then spoke to Sam, “Well, sweetheart, let’s see if we can find something yummy for you, shall we?”

oO0Oo

Frasier entered the General’s office. In her arms she carried the familiar medical files.

“Anything to report, Doctor?” the General asked.

“Daniel and Teal’c seem to be recovering. They have headaches, some pretty big holes in their memories, and some confusion. Daniel told me he can only remember nine and a half languages. But pieces of a few more are coming back to him.” She smiled ruefully, “The strangest thing was that they both believed this to be home.”

“Earth?” the General asked, puzzled.

She shook her head, “No – I mean here, the SGC. I didn’t think anything of it from Teal’c, but Daniel said the same thing. Even argued with me when I told him he had an apartment. Now that I’ve explained things, the memories are returning. I expect they’ll be fine by morning.” 

“What could possible explain that? I can see forgetting things – But why believe this to be home?” The General frowned.

Frasier spoke slowly, “This isn’t really my area, Sir, but it makes sense that the Goa’uld would design such mind altering effects to control their newly relocated slaves.” She shook her head and continued her report, “Unfortunately Jelu, the man from the planet who was affected by the energy wave, fared much worse. He may not recover fully. Currently he’s in a coma.”

The General studied her, “What does this mean for Colonel O’Neill, Major Carter, and the other natives?”

“I don’t know, Sir. And sending a probe back won’t help. This form of energy is undetectable by our instruments. We can only measure the effects.” Her lips were set in a thin line, “Sam could probably figure out a way, but…”

“Do we even know if they’re alive, Doctor?”

“No, Sir. If they were far enough away… if they were under cover… the energy wave definitely has less of an effect on Earth humans than the natives of this planet, so there’s hope… If they’re” she swallowed, “alive,” she said the word firmly, “they will probably be confused at the very least.”

“Send Dr. Jackson and Teal’c to my office as soon as they’re able.”

“Yes, Sir.” 

The General sat down behind his desk with a deep sigh as Dr. Frasier returned to her patients.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack returned from his undesirable task and sat down at the table wearily. Carter placed a bowl of food before him as Sam tried to climb into his lap cooing and babbling. He lifted her and hugged her to him for a moment. “I can’t even remember their names.”

“Maybe you really didn’t know them.” Carter responded, massaging his shoulder with one hand, as she set a few more things on the table.

“A village this size? We must have known everybody! I marked the graves, - we can come back later. Do a proper headstone.” He spoke softly, not meeting her eyes.

Carter nodded and sat down with him, “That’s good.”

Jack took a deep breath and turned to his food. He realized he was starving. “What’d you girls do?”

“Sam ate, we played, and she ‘helped’ me make your meal. She’s a sweetheart.” Carter looked over at the kitchen. “I might be the ‘brains’ but I don’t think I’m the cook. None of this seems familiar to me. Shouldn’t I be able to do this almost without thinking?” She took Sam onto her lap so he could eat, showed her a toy which instantly delighted her.

Jack speaks with his mouth full, “You did a great job by my reckoning!”

Carter smiled into Sam’s hands as she tried to show off her new toy, “You’re just hungry.” She paused, “Jack, I’m concerned that our ‘assumptions’ are wrong.”

“Assumptions?”

“You and me, us, Sam, all of this... Who are Daniel and Teal’c, really?”

Jack shrugs, “This feels right.”

“I know. It really does. It’s just…”

“Look. You think too much. We have no way of knowing anything for sure right now, so we go with the information we have. If you’re right, what would we be doing differently?”

She looked at him, considering, then relents, “Nothing”

“Well, there you go.” He pointed his fork at her. “Now after I finish this- and may I say- delicious meal, I’m going to see about getting us some new information. Head out, take a look around.”

She laid a firm hand on his shoulder, “You stay. I’ll do recon.”

Jack considered it, “Sure” he said, getting up and taking Sam into his arms. He bent and kissed the top of Carter’s head as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “It’s about time I got to spend some time with my other woman.”

Carter smiled at the pair as she moved to pick up a gun and head out the door.

oO0Oo

Daniel and Teal’c entered General Hammond’s office geared up and ready. “We are prepared to return to the planet, General Hammond.”

“I’m not sure we’re ready to do that just yet, Teal’c. What can you tell me about your experience on PX6 391 now that your memories have fully returned?”

Daniel sat down, disappointed, “We had been on the planet for a week when I found the Goa’uld technology. The device Apophis planted near the mine was well hidden. Apparently it was put there when the Naquedah deliveries began. Every time the Nadeelens opened the wormhole to make a delivery, Apophis restarted the timer on the device.” He paused for breath, “When we arrived, and convinced them Apophis was not what he claimed, the deliveries stopped and the timer began to run down.”

“What was the purpose of the device?”

“Janet was right. Sam believed it was originally intended as some kind of mind control, but somewhere in the past, probably once the inhabitants were established, it was altered. Now, if the timer was allowed to run down the energy wave would be deadly; at least to the Nadeelens, if not to everyone.” His voice trailed off and he looked down at his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

Teal’c continued for him, “We began the evacuation as soon as MajorCarter determined there was an imminent threat. There was much confusion.”

Daniel stood and began to pace, “We were just about done. There were only a handful of people left when Biera realized her husband didn’t have their baby. He thought she had her, she thought he had her… there was a lot of chaos. Anyway, Sam told her to go through the gate, and then ran back into the village. She said she’d have enough time. When Jack found out, he went after her. Teal’c and I and the baby’s father stood at the gate ‘till the last minute.”

“And beyond,” added the General.

“We actually saw the energy wave. It flowed out from the foot of the mountain in all directions. Teal’c shoved Jelu through the gate and then he and I followed. End of story. We saw no sign of Jack or Sam.”

“And barely made it back yourselves!” the General knew that they had actually been hit by the very edges of the wave as they entered the ‘gate. “So this energy wave did no physical damage to buildings or people?”

“You are correct, General Hammond. The wave only affects the mind.”

“It was designed to kill the Nadeelens but leave the mine intact.”

“I know we can’t detect the wave. But I’d still like to send a probe through to determine if there are any visible effects still occurring. Plus we may get some idea of the whereabouts of our people. When we have that information, I’ll be able to determine whether anybody is going back to that planet. Dismissed.”

oO0Oo

Sam returned just as the sun was setting. She too had to pause quietly in the doorway because of the scene before her. 

Jack had a fire going in the fireplace, and was sitting in a comfortable chair, his long legs stretched out before him and Sam curled against his chest, sound asleep. His cheek rested gently in her blond curls. 

He stared into the flames until Carter made a small noise. Jack looked up at her, almost disturbing Sam.

“Sorry!” Carter whispered.

Jack signaled her to be quiet as he gently lifted the limp body and carried her into one of the two bedrooms. 

Carter followed and watched him lay her down and tuck her in. He then came to stand behind her putting his arms around her and lowering his mouth to her ear. “Now this I do remember: The joys of watching your child sleep.”

Sam frowned slightly. She had no memory of this. But she wouldn’t let it spoil the moment. She leaned into his embrace, enjoying the feeling of rightness, of belonging in the midst of so much uncertainness.

Jack took her hand and led her into the main room. He pulled another chair up to the fire. They spoke softly, “What did you find?”

Sam sat, “I covered a lot of territory, but I don’t have a lot of new information. I didn’t run across a single soul, or any living creature for that matter, nor bodies. There are basically two roads out of the village, which I’m sure you saw this afternoon. One is less traveled and heads straight to the Stargate-”

“Stargate?” he paused, thinking to himself, “Stargate.”

Frustrated, she interrupted, “I know. That gave me quite a pause. I know a lot about the Stargate, I just can’t remember any of it.” 

He nodded, “What about the roads?”

“The other road is much more heavily traveled and branches several times before it ends at the foot of a mountain. There seems to have been some kind of mining operation there, but like everything else, it’s deserted.”

“Did you go into the mine?”

“By that time it was starting to get dark. I wasn’t comfortable exploring it without more equipment, so I came home.”

“Smart. Plus, we really missed you.”

Carter leaned forward and took Jack’s hand in both of hers, “What next, Sir?”

“Sir?” 

Carter closed her eyes, “It comes so very naturally, unlike the kitchen.” She grinned wryly. “I’ve bit my tongue several times ‘cause it doesn’t seem to fit - this,” she gestured at the room, “But it’s real.” 

Jack looked at her, narrowed his eyes, studied her, thinking thoughts he didn’t want to think: He knew she was right. Then he leaned forward abruptly and kissed her softly. When he sat back, he looked at her, his eyes full of sadness and regret. “I’m gonna get some sleep. Likely to be a big day tomorrow.”

He left Carter staring into the fire.

oO0Oo

Two hours later he came back, just to the bedroom door. He hadn’t slept either. After pausing to watch her still staring into the fire, he walked back in. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Thinking”

He sat back down next to her. “’bout what?”

“What do you remember?”

He cocked his head at her.

“About us.” She clarified.

“Aah!” He settled in, giving the question some thought, “I remember ice.”

“Ice?”

“Ice was when I first… uh...”

“Ice?”

“You wouldn’t leave.”

She looked at him, waiting.

“I ordered you to leave. You were supposed to leave. You didn’t.”

“I think I did.” A vague memory surfaces.

“Nope”

“Ice?”

“Plus you laugh at my jokes.”

She smiled. “You wouldn’t leave either.” She had a different memory, “There was some kind of barrier. I remember feeling you should leave. Wanting you to leave and you wouldn’t. You insisted on trying to save me when there was no chance.”

“There’s always a chance.”

“I love you because you believe that.”

“I love you because you let me.” He paused, “And you laugh at my jokes.”

She chuckled, “Jack…”

“They’re not very good jokes…”

“Jack – “

“I remember a blue gown.”

She frowned.

“Blue…I’d never seen you so beautiful. I remember, you hated it and that only made you more beautiful.”

She shook her head. She can’t remember that. “There are so many times I remember thinking we’d have to give up, expecting you to give up. I can’t remember what actually happened, only the feelings. You never give up.”

“I did.”

“When?”

“Ice” He stared into the fire “You came back. You didn’t leave.”

“I couldn’t.”

He turned and looked into her eyes in the firelight. They sat that way for a long time.

“Big day–“ She started.

“tomorrow” he finished. “yeah.”

They both stood and considered one another. She stepped into his arms. He held her, buried his face in her hair. “G’night Carter.” 

They both retired to separate bedrooms. They had to. If they started anything now…

oO0Oo

The Stargate dialed up the planet. The MALP went through and showed a split second image of a squad of Jaffa before being destroyed.

“I guess Apophis decided to see how well his device worked.” Daniel grimaced.

“We do not know that O’Neill or MajorCarter have been captured. They are both very accomplished in stealth.”

“Until you can show me a way to get past that guard, no one is going back.” 

Daniel hugged himself and frowned in thought. Teal’c turned and strode from the control room.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

oO0Oo  
Leave – Chapter 3  
oO0Oo

Jack woke up early and was busy putting flashlights, weapons and other supplies into a pack when Carter walked into the room with a wide awake and very cheerful Sam in her arms. When Carter set her on her feet she toddled over to Jack and held out her arms, “Up! Up!”

Jack smiled, picked her up and tossed her a couple times. Sam rewarded him with shrieks of laughter. But his face turned serious as he hugged her close for a moment, set her down and arranged the wooden blocks he had carved for her the evening before so she could play with them. She giggled and began to stack them and knock them over. Jack turned to Carter, “I’m gonna check out the mine. It’s gotta be the key to what happened here.”

“I agree, but should you go alone?”

“Probably not, but we gotta do something, and I’m not putting Sam at risk,” he slung his pack over his shoulder. “When she’s ready, take Sam and head up to the Stargate. See if anything comes back to you.”

“But-“

“That’s an order, Carter.” He said it too harshly. And he regretted it instantly, he’s frustrated, but it’s not her fault. He didn’t sleep at all last night. He lay awake thinking about their situation. Wanting to be with her, but being with her the way he wants would ruin everything. The fact that he can’t remember what, exactly, he would be ruining makes it ten times more frustrating. “Carter, I…”

She nodded. She understood.

He looked at her a beat more, not understanding why she was able to forgive him so easily and so often. He headed out the door as Carter turned to get Sam some breakfast.

oO0Oo

As soon as Jack left the house he realized there was action in the direction of the stargate. He immediately decided to change his plans, and headed in that direction. 

He didn’t get too far before he spotted a group of strangely dressed but well-armed men. He dropped silently to the ground behind some barrels and watched. They were moving into the town. One advanced scout was getting close to the house, too close. 

He moved quickly and stealthily around behind him. He meant to take the scout out silently and then get Carter and Sam into the forest before they could be detected. 

As he gathered himself for the attack, it briefly occurred to him that he knew precisely how to neutralize a threat soundlessly; several ways, actually. 

All were violent and cruel, but also, apparently, sometimes necessary, like now. He wondered what kind of life he led that had required this kind of knowledge. 

Jack succeeded in killing the scout without a sound, but not before he drew a wicked looking blade. He barely managed to twist his body as the knife entered. If he hadn’t, the blade would have pierced vital organs and he knew he’d be dead now. Again – how did he know to do that? As it was he quickly pressed a bandage to the painful wound and then ignored it

Jack stumbled to the house, paused to catch his breath, and walked in. Carter turned, surprised to see him back already.

“There’s trouble. A squad of…” he can’t think of the word, “armed men from the gate. Get whatever Sam needs and let’s get out of here.” 

“Sir – you’re bleeding –“

“Not mine.” He told her. “Let’s move.”

He began to gather up the gear Carter would have worn for herself while she grabbed some things for Sam. 

In less than a minute they were running into the forest together. Carter was carrying Sam while Jack had most of the gear.


	4. Chapter 4

oO0Oo

Leave – chapter 4

oO0Oo

“General, we have got to do something!” Daniel exclaimed.

“Dr. Jackson,” The general was equally adamant. “I am aware of your feelings. I share them. But the fact is that I can’t risk more lives when we don’t know if there’s anybody to rescue. Neither Colonel O’Neill nor Major Carter have even answered our radio signals” 

“I have been led to believe that the Tau’ri do not leave their people behind.”

“Jack’s been left for dead before, General, are you going to do that to him again?”

“What do you suggest, Doctor Jackson?” Hammond almost shouted, “Tell me a way to do this without guaranteeing the deaths of several more men. Would Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter want that?”

“What if…” Daniel was searching for a compromise, “send a UAV through. If there’s no contact, we’ll – give up.” Teal’c raised an eyebrow at his teammate.

General Hammond stared at Daniel for a beat. This was not about getting them off his case. He wanted to mount a rescue as badly as they did, maybe more so.

He reached for his phone, “Prepare a UAV.”

oO0Oo

Carter was running with Sam who was crying into her shoulder, frightened by all the commotion. She was trying to comfort her, but it was difficult. The distraction delayed her realization that Jack was falling behind. She slowed to let him catch up, alarm bells ringing, “Sir?”

“Carter, we’ve got to do a better job of covering our trail!”

She instinctively reached out a hand to steady him as he stumbled, and accidentally touched the knife wound. He grunted and went down on one knee. She pulled away a hand covered in blood – fresh blood. “Not yours?”

“I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”

“You should let me look at that.”

“No time. Let’s get safe. Then you can play doctor.”

She helped him to his feet. He rested a hand on Sam who stopped crying to look at him. He smiled for her, seemed to gain strength from the act, and led off in a slightly new direction.

oO0Oo

The Jaffa had discovered that the village was not deserted after all. Someone had killed one of their scouts. The first prime ordered a search. Their trail into the forest was soon discovered and the squad set off on the hunt. As a result, the Stargate was only lightly guarded when the UAV shot through. 

The guards only managed to get a few erratic shots off before it was away. It circled around first to show the current situation at the gate. Then it took off in a search pattern to try to locate the missing people.

oO0Oo

A couple miles from the village Jack lost his footing again. 

“Sir, you can’t go on like this. We have to stop.”

He looked at her. “Stop where, Carter?”

She shook her head. 

Just then the UAV flew close enough to be heard. Carter grabbed for her radio just as they heard and recognized Daniel’s voice. “Come in SG-1: Sam! Jack!!”

“Daniel! We read you. We are being tracked into the forest three clicks southwest of the village. There are approximately twenty…” She searched for the word, “Jaffa behind us. Jack has been injured. We need back up.”

The General added, “Major Carter, the UAV showed limited forces at the gate. We will be with you in less than an hour. Hold on.”

Jack had fallen into a sitting position during the exchange. He almost went limp at the news that Carter and Sam would soon be rescued. Soon, someone else would come to protect them; protect them the way he wanted to. 

“Sir, did you hear that? They’ll be here soon. We just have to go to ground.” 

“Right. But we split up.” His voice was quiet; whether from weakness or the need for stealth she didn’t know.

“Sir?”

“I’m leaving a trail – “

“And I can do something about that.” Without waiting for him to protest, she passed Sam who had cried herself to sleep into Jack’s arms and pulled out more bandages. “This isn’t the best job I’ve ever done, but it’ll keep you from leaving a blood trail. Now we double back to those trees, and wait for reinforcements.”

Jack, who had been almost silent during Carter’s ministrations except for a few grunts and groans, was now very pale. “I told you you were the brains. Lead on.” He was too weak to do anything else.

They moved back off their trail, careful not to leave any signs of their passing. Carter shouldered all the gear and took Sam, leaving Jack to struggle to his feet.

oO0Oo

the end is near… thanks again for reading!!


	5. Chapter 5

Daniel, Teal’c and SG-3 came through the gate shooting. The Jaffa were quickly overpowered. They left a group to keep the gate secure, and headed out in the direction Carter had told them.

Because of Teal’c’s superior tracking skills, they are able to move much more quickly than the other Jaffa. Teal’c soon paused and went down on one knee. “They paused here for some time. O’Neill appears to be badly injured. There is a large quantity of blood here, as well as on the trail we followed to this point.” Daniel grimaced. But then Teal’c’s expression turned hopeful.

“What?” Daniel asks.

“The Jaffa have continued ahead, but MajorCarter and O’Neill have doubled back. We will find them soon.”

“I just hope it’s soon enough.”

oO0Oo

Carter had found them shelter, almost a cave, under the roots of a huge tree that had fallen a long time ago. She laid down her coat to make a bed for Sam, taking her from Jack’s arms just before he collapsed. It was all he could do to keep from crying out when she gently took his shoulders and pulled him further under cover. 

“I’m so sorry.” She whispered. 

“s’okay”

Rather than hurt him by pulling him any farther, she scrambled out to cover his legs with leaves and twigs. “Help will be here soon, Jack, hang on.”

“Carter,” his voice was very weak but his eyes were clear and bright, “The last couple days were great. No matter what happens, I want you to know I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Yeah” she softly agreed. Sam stirred and woke up. She crawled over to them and Carter pulled her onto her lap. She looked up at Sam with wide eyes. 

Jack smiled and tried to reach toward them, but let his hand fall back. It was just too heavy, and somehow that was okay. He closed his eyes. 

He looked – peaceful; as she had never seen him before. Suddenly she realized he had become very still. 

“Jack?” she asked softly, fearfully. She reached out to touch his face. “No. Not now.” She whispered. “Not when help is so close! Please!” She leaned down and pressed her lips to his forehead. “Hang on.”

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

oO0Oo  
Leave – Chapter 6  
oO0Oo

Carter heard a noise nearby. She held Sam tighter, shielding her, and reached for her weapon. 

“Sam?” Daniel knelt down in the opening and peered in at them; holding up his hands defensively when he saw the barrel of a P-90 pointed between his eyes.

Carter looked at ‘Sam’ puzzled as she lowered the weapon and then back at Daniel, “Daniel?”

Daniel knew he needed to proceed carefully. He didn’t know how much she remembered. “How’s Jack?”

Carter’s eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. Daniel looked at her in disbelief. He reached in to check Jack’s pulse. “Teal’c!” 

He knelt next to Daniel, still wary of their surroundings. 

“We have to get Jack back to Janet now! I can barely feel a pulse... I think.” his voice faded at the last as Teal’c was already moving.

He did not speak. He grabbed Jack’s arm, pulled him from the shelter and over his shoulder in one smooth motion. He steadied Jack with one hand, grabbed his staff weapon with the other, nodded at Daniel and Carter, and ran into the forest.

Daniel watched for a moment before turning to Carter, “We really should try to give him some cover. Can you two travel?”

“We’re fine, but I need to keep her safe.” 

“I’m gonna follow Teal’c to the gate and come back for you. Okay?”

Sam nodded, and Daniel ran after Teal’c. He caught him up just as he encountered a small group of Jaffa. Teal’c fired his staff weapon one handed and never stopped moving to the gate. Daniel found some decent cover and began to take out as many as he could. At the very least, it was a distraction for the Jaffa now had two targets and had to split up.

As the last Jaffa fell he received a transmission from Teal’c. “Thank you for your assistance DanielJackson. I have reached the gate. You are free to return to MajorCarter and the child.”

“Roger that, Teal’c. Get Jack home.”

oO0Oo

Daniel returned to the fallen tree and peered into the gloom. He saw Carter sitting and rocking the child on her lap. Little hands were reaching up to touch the tears on her cheeks. “Sam?” he asked gently.

“Why do you call me that?” She asked.

“That’s your name: Major Samantha Carter.” 

She frowned and turned to look at him, “I’m Sam?” 

Daniel nodded at her.

“Sam – Carter”

He nodded again.

“Then… who’s this?” she asked – a hint of fear in her voice. 

Daniel smiled and reached out to stroke the child’s hair, “I think that this must be Belanna. Her mother has been very worried about her. She’ll be very happy to know you succeeded in rescuing her.”

Sam frowned harder. She felt so many contradictory things, so many vague memories and strong feelings. She shook her head, willing the tears from her eyes, “Her mother? Then I’m not…”

Daniel crawled in and sat across from her. Sam/Belanna leaned her head against Carter’s shoulder and looked at Daniel with big eyes. Carter reflexively tightened her arms, snuggling her. Daniel smiled again at the baby, and asked as gently as he could, “What did you think?”

Suddenly everything that happened the last two days was just too much. “We woke up alone in a house with a child, what do you think we thought??!!” she almost shouted. 

Daniel put up his hands in a sign of restraint, there were still Jaffa around. 

“And now…” her voice trailed off. 

Daniel took a deep breath and began to explain. “Jack is Colonel O’Neill. He’s the leader of our team; SG-1; you, me and Teal’c. We travel through the Stargate to many different planets.” He paused because Carter was nodding slowly, reluctantly. “It’s hard for you to remember because a Goa’uld device affected your mind. When we get home, I promise, you’ll remember everything.”

“Home…” she whispered. At that moment she wasn’t sure she wanted to remember. 

Then she wiped at her eyes and gathered up Sam/Belanna. She was ready to go.

oO0Oo

At the ‘gate Daniel paused and turned to Carter who was holding Belanna tightly. “Are you - ready for this? Biera – the child’s mother - will be waiting on the other side.”

Carter looked simply beaten, first Jack, now Sam? But she hugged the baby and kissed the top of her head, then she handed her to Daniel. “You do it.” 

Without another thought she stepped through the wormhole with Daniel and the rest of SG-3 right behind her.

In the gate room Carter didn’t stop for anyone, not even the General, and especially not Belanna’s mother. She did not hear the joyous cries as Biera and Jelu, who had awoken and was present in a wheelchair, were reunited with their only child. 

She headed straight to the infirmary. 

On the way she was forced to duck into a deserted storeroom. She fell to her knees and wept quietly. There were just too many feelings, thoughts and returning memories. 

When she felt she had herself under control, she walked the rest of the way to the infirmary. Janet was waiting for her, as was Teal’c. Daniel had managed to call and tell them everything before she got there. 

Janet took her arm when she paused at the door staring at the empty beds. She had been hoping beyond hope to see Jack there. 

Janet wanted badly to just give her friend a hug, but was afraid if she did it would break her tenuous control. Instead she told her what she wanted so badly to hear; “Jack is in surgery to repair the knife wound. He should be out pretty soon.” 

It was a good thing Janet had led her to a bed because she abruptly sat down as her knees gave way. “How is he?”

Janet sighed, “I’m sorry. It’s too soon to tell. He lost a lot of blood.”

Carter nodded absently, “He didn’t even tell me.”

Janet continued to examine her. When she determined there were no dangerous aftereffects from the device, at least none that were immediately evident, she helped Sam lie down and gave her a sedative. She didn’t resist. “He’ll be here when you wake up.” 

Teal’c moved to sit beside her bed, as Daniel appeared in the door and exchanged worried looks with Janet.


	7. Chapter 7

oO0Oo  
Leave – Chapter 7  
oO0Oo

In the night, Sam woke up to see that Jack was indeed asleep in the next bed. She got up, moved around the machines that surrounded him and took his hand. She knew now why that was inappropriate, but she didn’t care. She needed to feel his warmth. 

Teal’c came up silently behind her and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Doctor Frasier believes he will recover fully.” Sam smiled slightly and nodded her thanks. 

Eventually Teal’c went to get her a chair and she stayed there the rest of the night.

At dawn she left. She needed to be alone, to think, to breathe the mountain air. 

oO0Oo 

How do you deal with the loss of something that was never yours to begin with? Deep down, she knew all along, so why was this so hard? Jack wasn’t dead. She was still on his team. SG-1 was still intact. And Sam- Belanna, she corrected herself, was with her parents; which, she reminded herself, was what she had intended from the beginning! Things were back the way they belonged. 

She thought for a long time about choices: options and priorities; hers, Jack’s, the SGC’s, the country’s, the planet’s… In the end there weren’t a lot of choices. She decided she needed to talk to Jack, to tell him-

“Thought I might find you out here,” She jumped when Daniel came up behind her. “Sorry,” he grinned, “didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to tell you that Jack’s awake. He’s pretty sleepy, but he asked for you.” 

He was talking to air.

oO0Oo

Teal’c stood when Carter entered. He nodded at her and moved to gently but firmly usher out a nurse who was hovering nearby. Jack weakly waved a hand at her, “Hey.”

She smiled, “Hey, yourself. How do you feel?”

He looked into her eyes for a moment as she realized how her question could be taken. Then he glanced away.

“Doc says I’m gonna be fine. She says your little bandaid saved my life.”

Sam scoffed, “That was terrible! I’m embarrassed she even saw it.” 

“Maybe we should have taken it off?” 

Carter shook her head at his sarcasm. Then she took a deep breath, “Sir-“

“Carter-“ they began at the same time.

“Carter, I got something to say, and then you can say whatever you want. I promise I’ll listen.” 

She nodded. 

He continued weakly, “I want to share with you something my friend Teal’c said to me. I was pretty bummed about…things…” he glanced up at her, “when I woke up, and he said... Well… he asked me what leave is.”

“Leave?”

“Yeah, leave – time off – vacation. Out of curiosity, what would you have told him?”

She considered, “I guess I would have said it’s a chance to take a break from your normal activity, do something you really enjoy, that you can’t usually do… I don’t know.”

“That’s about what I said, ‘course I included fishing. Then he asked me if people mourn the end of their leave.”

“Sometimes, I guess we do, a little.”

Jack nodded, “Then he looks at me with that look he has, you know the one… Anyway…“ He cocked his head, “he asked me if I enjoyed my leave.” 

They stared at each other for several heartbeats. Jack’s face was almost unreadable. She saw both hope and uncertainty there. Her heart was torn at that moment; pulled in opposite directions. She knew what he was offering. She knew now, for certain, what he wished for them and yet he was offering to let everything go back as it was. He was offering to wait – if that was what she wanted. He was telling her once again that he would be there for her IF and when she wanted him – always. 

Would her decision stand in the face of his offer?

“That was it. That’s all he said. Took me a while to figure out what he was saying. But, anyway,” he waggled his fingers, “that’s what I wanted to share with you. Now you can say anything you want. Permission to speak freely – really - I’m listening. Ready for anything – prepared – all set – primed…”

She gazed at him, her heart beaming through her too bright eyes. 

He watched her carefully. 

Never had she seen him more open.

Then she nodded slowly to herself. Options, priorities…They’re all in place. “Teal’c’s a pretty smart guy, Sir.”

He watched her a moment more; as if to be sure she would be all right.

“Who’d’ve thought?!”

oO0Oo  
The end.  
oO0Oo  
Thanks so much for reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you’re interested – there’s a new story, a sequel – called ‘Leaving.’


End file.
